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Michal Neuvirth could be the player that Vegas plucks off Philadelphia's roster in the expansion draft.

Neuvirth was a member of the Capitals when new Vegas GM George McPhee was there and that familiarity could get him selected. If he gets taken then the Flyers may circle back to pending UFA netminder Steve Mason. The Flyers surprisingly chose to protect Anthony Stolarz instead of Neuvirth. Jun 20 - 11:55 AM

"I really believe [he] is going to come back focused," Hextall said. "He was really good for us last year. This year, he was kind of reflective of our team. He was inconsistent. He had some good times and some times that weren't very good. I expect [him] to come back and be a really good player for us. In saying that, we need two guys." Neuvirth got a two-year contract extension in March and Steve Mason could be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Apr 15 - 9:20 AM

The Philadelphia Flyers are saying that Michal Neuvirth has an upper-body injury.

Neuvirth collapsed during a faceoff on Saturday and was taken off the ice on a stretcher. He was hospitalized, but was released Sunday afternoon. We don't have all the details about what happened and obviously the term upper-body injury doesn't reveal much. It was previously noted that his collapse might have been the result of a sinus infection, but it's not clear if that's truly the cause. The Flyers are also saying that he's day-to-day. Apr 6 - 11:44 AM

Depth Charts

Claude Giroux was tested out as a left winger during Monday's preseason contest.

Giroux had previously practiced as a left winger during training camp, but initially he was still being used as a center during the actual preseason games. That changed on Monday when Giroux skated on a line with Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek. "It was good," Giroux said. "As the game went on, I started to feel more comfortable. We had a lot of chances, just some mistakes that you don’t see during the season, like a 2-on-0 with Jake, usually our chemistry is better than that. As the game went on, our chemistry got better and we were able to find each other a little bit more." Giroux might get in another exhibition game as a winger, but it's still not clear which position he'll be serving as when the season starts.

While plus/minus always needs to be taken with a grain of salt, Couturier had a plus-18 rating in his final 19 games. He was also strong offensively over that span with five goals and 17 points. "Sean Couturier was playing the best hockey I've ever seen him play," teammate Jakub Voracek said. Couturier's overall campaign was nothing out of the ordinary though as he finished with 14 goals, 34 points, and a plus-12 rating in 66 games. So the question now is if his hot finish was a taste of things to come or just part of an inconsistent campaign. Couturier, 24, has always had offensive upside, but he's failed to reach the 40-point mark in any of his first six NHL campaigns.

The Philadelphia Flyers were happy with the play of Valtteri Filppula after they acquired him from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline.

Filppula had five goals and eight points in 20 games but GM Ron Hextall is looking forward to next season when he has him for all 82 games. "I felt like later in the year, we had more bullets in our gun," Hextall said. "(Jordan) Weal comes in and does a good job. Filppula comes in and really gives us stability. Really upgraded our top nine. So when you're talking 5-on-5 play, just to depend on five or six guys, all of a sudden you have nine guys you can count on." Filppula ended the campaign with 12 goals and 42 points so look for similar numbers next season if he remains healthy.

Patrick will play between Wayne Simmonds and Jordan Weal. "We've only had one game together, but I think Simmer's obviously a top player in the league, he was an All-Star last year, he can put the puck in the net and make plays," Patrick said. "So he's big down low to create space. Jordan's great offensively, he's got a lot of speed, so I just try to play smart and find them when they're open and make plays." The second overall pick of the 2017 Draft appears to have an excellent shot at making the Flyers this season. The 19-year-old had abdominal surgery in June but looks to be healthy and ready to go this season. Look for 15-20 goals and 40-50 points from the talented youngster this season. He is a must draft in all keeper leagues.

Lehtera has been a center for most of his NHL career, but it sounds like he'll get a look on the wing. "I played there in Olympics, World Cup and World Championships, so it’s not weird," Lehtera said. "I don’t think it matters if you have a good centerman it doesn’t matter if you’re a winger. It was a good first start." The 29-year-old is coming off a disappointing season in St. Louis, as he had just seven goals and 15 assists in 64 games.

It's a two-year deal worth $1.8 million so the salary cap hit will be $900,000. The former Union College star had 29 goals and 63 points this past season before agreeing to an entry level contract at the end of March with Philadelphia. Look for Vecchione to make the Flyers out of training camp or get called up quickly if he starts the season in the minors. He is worth looking at in deep leagues.

As a 19-year-old, Konecny had 28 points in 70 games during his rookie season. "I’m not trying to set expectations because the second year, for most guys, is a harder year. You come in expecting to do more — and then you’re gripping the stick, and if things start going south, then you start worrying," said Konecny. "So I’m just concentrating on working hard, and when the opportunities present themselves, I have to take advantage. There’s no excuses this year. I have to bear down a little bit more. My goal is, wherever I’m placed in the lineup, I want to stick there and I want to play my position right and try to be more consistent."

The Philadelphia Flyers have re-signed Jordan Weal to a two-year deal.

He'll make $3.5 million over the lifetime of the contract. Weal reportedly met with a few teams in the last couple of days, but in the end he decided to stay put. The 25-year-old had 12 points in 23 games with the Flyers last season and he added an impressive 47 points in 43 games in the AHL. He should get every opportunity to play a key role with Philadelphia next season.

Michael Raffl was not protected by Philadelphia for the expansion draft.

Raffl generated just 11 points in 52 games last season after he had 31 points in 82 matches in 2015-16. However, goaltender Michal Neuvirth or forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare may interest the Golden Knights more than Raffl.

According to Jordan Hall of CSNPhilly.com, Scott Laughton looks like a sure bet to make the Flyers.

Laughton was taken 20th overall in the 2012 Draft and while he has played 109 NHL games, last season for the most part, he honed his game in the AHL. He is more of a defensive forward so his fantasy value is negligible.

Lindblom has had the opportunity to skate on Philadelphia's top two lines during training camp. CSN Philly's John Boruk says he "can't help but be impressed with (Lindblom's) commitment to defense and a strong two-way game coming straight out of the SHL." The 21-year-old had 22 goals and 47 points in 52 games in the Swedish League last season, so there's some offensive upside to his game, too.

Jakub Voracek is projected to play with Claude Giroux and Matt Read on Thursday night.

Voracek hasn't scored a goal in 10 straight games and he has just four assists during that span, so a reunion with Giroux could help. Valtteri Filppula is slated to skate between Wayne Simmonds and Jordan Weal.

Simmonds was absent for the team's previous two sessions because of an illness. He won't play in either of Philadelphia's split-squad exhibition games Wednesday against the Islanders, but neither will Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Sean Couturier.

Read has one more season left on his contract at a $3.625 million cap hit. Philadelphia's roster could be a bit more crowded in 2017-18 if the No. 2 overall pick in the draft makes the jump right away to the NHL. However, another buyout may be unlikely since the Flyers will still have a $1.5 million charge against the cap because of R.J. Umberger.

Provorov had six goals and 30 points in 82 games with the Flyers during his rookie season. Those are strong numbers for a guy who entered the league at a 19-year-old, but he still has a ways to go before he scores 20. "If it happens it happens," Provorov said. "I mean, I scored 20 goals in junior. I think it’s going to happen eventually. Hopefully, I’ll get there, but I’m not going to go out of my way and cost defensive mistakes to try to score goals. If the opportunity is right, I will join the rush and try to score. But you have to use your head and know when to join the rush and when to back off."

Shayne Gostisbehere has focused on adding upper-body core strength and muscle over the summer.

The goal is to provide Gostisbehere with more stamina and put him in a battle position to battle for the puck along the boards. He should be in a significantly better position physically than he was a year ago. "I have a lot less doubt, just I'd say, body-wise," Gostisbehere said. "Obviously last year coming off surgeries and stuff. You have your doubts mentally if I'm going to hold up. I think the biggest thing for me is how good of a summer I just had, how strong I got. I feel like I'm in great shape. I'm ready for the season. Build it up to break it down." Heading into his third season in the NHL, Gostisbehere could end up with a 40-50 point season.

The Flyers' defense is getting younger and MacDonald's contract still has three years remaining with an annual cap hit of $5 million. Philadelphia could offer the Vegas Golden Knights draft picks as incentive to take MacDonald in a trade or in the expansion draft.

Brandon Manning (back) hopes to be 100 percent by the time the regular season begins.

"It's taken longer than I thought," said Manning, who had back surgery in late April. "It was probably one of the toughest summers I've ever had. Not (only) physically, but mentally because every time I tried to get into it, something flared up and I wouldn't feel right. From that aspect, it was really tough. I'm still dealing with it on a day-to-day basis." He resumed skating in mid-August and will play Wednesday night in preseason action against the Islanders.

Travis Sanheim has continued to make a great impression on Flyers coach Dave Hakstol.

Sanheim scored two goals on Monday, but it goes beyond his strong showings in exhibition contests. "I learned more about him five to six days ago," Hakstol said. "He didn’t have a great night (preseason opener against Islanders). Sometimes you learn as much about a player and where he’s at coming off a night like that. It didn’t shake him. He came back and had a great practice the next day and he carried that into the next game. To me, that showed maturity on his part." It still wouldn't be shocking if Sanheim didn't make the team, but he's certainly doing everything in his power to get on the roster. Even if he doesn't make the squad, he's got a lot of long-term upside and he'd be worth keeping an eye on if he got summoned as an injury replacement at some point.

Robert Hagg has an excellent opportunity to make the Flyers this season.

The defenseman has been playing with either Ivan Provorov or Shayne Gostisbehere during training camp and that's not too shabby as they are the Flyers top two defensemen especially offensively. "I don't mind it. Let them do their job and I'm taking care of the defense, kind of what I did last year, as well. Start getting used to it and I don't have any problems with it. I think my best game is in the D-zone, shutting down guys, 1-on-1 battles. And then sure, I can follow up in the game and find some pucks here and there. But my main focus is to be good in the D-zone, take care of that and the rest will take care of itself." Don't expect a lot offensively from Hagg.

Samuel Morin knows he needs to have a solid training camp to make the Flyers roster.

The 22-year-old has suited up in just one NHL game in his career, but there's a real opportunity for him to crack the opening night roster in 2017-18. "For sure, it’s a different feeling this year," said Morin. "Last year, even if I had a really good camp, there were a lot of veterans that were coming back. This year, you can see there’s a lot more room for young guys. There are so many [young] guys that are good players, and in order to get a spot I’m going to have to deserve it. I’m going to need to battle." Morin is more of a physical, stay-at-home defenseman, so he won't have any fantasy value even if he does make the team.

Brian Elliott stopped all 18 shots he faced in his preseason debut with Philadelphia on Thursday.

Elliott was playing in the first two periods of the Flyers' 2-1 overtime loss to Boston. It's just a first step for Elliott and we wouldn't read too much into preseason action, but it's still good to see him do well as he settles in with Philadelphia. "Yeah, it felt pretty good," Elliott said. "Just trying to see pucks and basically get acclimated in a game situation. We haven’t seen that in camp at all. So playing a game is fun, to get back in there, you forget how actually fun it is to play a game." Elliott is coming off an up-and-down season with Calgary where he posted a 2.55 GAA and .910 save percentage in 49 contests.

Michal Neuvirth could be the player that Vegas plucks off Philadelphia's roster in the expansion draft.

Neuvirth was a member of the Capitals when new Vegas GM George McPhee was there and that familiarity could get him selected. If he gets taken then the Flyers may circle back to pending UFA netminder Steve Mason. The Flyers surprisingly chose to protect Anthony Stolarz instead of Neuvirth.

Anthony Stolarz's knee injury will keep him out for months, not weeks, per GM Ron Hextall.

Stolarz underwent meniscus surgery in April, but he needed to have a second procedure done on Thursday after injuring himself off the ice. It's unclear when Stolarz will be back at this point. He was heading into the season as the third goalie on the depth chart behind Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth.